The International 2013

“Wrap around gank is going to be the name of the game for IG. Who leads them? I believe it should be Zhou, they’re gonna cut for the shorter path, they storm up the river. Patience from Zhou, waiting in the wake. Na’vi is about to be caught.

OH! There’s the Sleep; the Surge; it catches everyone; oh this is going to be a total disaster. Vacuum in, Ravage on everyone, the Black Hole as well. LightOfHeavan turns it around, Ravage as well, stolen by Dendi.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

They turn it around, four heroes dead; five heroes dead, ChuaN tries to survive, ChuaN is going to go down. Puppey talked about the Naga counter, it’s LightOfHeavan with his BKB. They turn it around, I don’t even know how they are going to do it. Standing ovation from the crowd!”

– LD, The International, 2012

As these words were uttered by LD, a Dota 2 commentator, the Ukrainian team Na’Vi, countered and crushed their Chinese rivals, IG, in the winner bracket finals of last year’s The International. Due to its impossibly perfect execution, the scene itself was forever immortalized in the annals of Dota 2 history and has come to be known as The Play.

Dubbed as the World Cup or Super Bowl of the E-sports due to its whooping prize money, The 2013 edition of the grand tournament boasts a total prize pool of USD$2.7 million with the top 8 teams getting a part of the loot. This year, this time, The International pits the best 16 Dota 2 teams in the world in a five day double-elimination bracket competition culminating in a best of 5 grand finals on the main stage; all in Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony, in Seattle, Washington.

Valve, the company behind world renowned titles like the Counter Strike series, Team Fortress 2 and Portal, held its first International tournament in 2011 as a way to promote its new game, Dota 2. Since then it became a global phenomenon and snowballed into the biggest Dota2 tournament in the world. With all the resources invested in cultivating a healthy and fast-learning Dota2 culture, Valve’s efforts are proven to bear fruits as the community now has a population of 5.4 million players and endless discoveries of gaming possibilities.

So why the anticipation? Since the dawn of Dota with its original incarnation in Warcraft 3, fans and players have been debating the prowess of the different schools of Dota, namely Eastern and Western Dota. Each year, The International attempts to put this argument to rest as the bests of the East meets with the elites of the West in an epic showdown with the all-time score tied at one to one, with Na’Vi (Ukraine) winning the 2011 game and IG (China) crowned for the 2012 edition. In this year’s clash of the titans, we can expect no less than unconventional hero picks, trend-changing pick/ban and of course mind-boggling gameplays from both sides of the world. Will the classical early patient and farming method of Eastern Dota defend its title, or Western’s aggressive ganking and pushing style prevails this time round? We will find out pretty soon as The International 2013 begins THIS VERY week and will be held from August 2 till August 11.

16 teams. One stage. One Aegis. Who will emerge victorious and stand above others? Who will be crowned as the Champion of The International 2013?

Prepare for battle.

More in-depth information about competitive Dota 2, various team presentations as well as well as live coverage and streams can be found here – http://www.joindota.com

You may watch the game life from the Dota 2 client itself. Download Dota 2 through Steam, it’s free to play! – http://steamcommunity.com/